Share This:

Like this:

Related

2 Comments

In the case of a sudden death in your flock, I would immediately quarantine any birds who have come into contact with them and remove the one who has passed away for a later necropsy.

I know that all hobbyists who experience this want to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. There are many possibilities as Dr. Cathy has said above and the only way to be sure is to have the bird checked.

Here is an excerpt from a LGF article regarding sudden deaths in Finches:
“Any of the following could cause sudden death: night frights, poisoning, heatstroke, acute disease, coccidiosis, collision in flight with a larger bird, heart attack, stroke, lack of water or food due to introducing a new bird to unfamiliar surroundings late in the day.”http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/features_faq.php#droppeddead

Other causes I have heard of or seen first-hand include lack of proper nutrients, extreme depression or stress leading to a lack of appetite/mobility. Reasons for this may include the loss of a mate or companion.

Something else to think about – inbreeding will also cause early hatchling death or sudden death in a juvenile or young Zebra Finch. “Inbreeding typically reduces fitness. Related partners may fail to reproduce and any inbred offspring may die early or fail to reproduce themselves. Here we show that inbreeding causes early death in the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata, and among inbred individuals of the same inbreeding coefficient (F), those that die early are more homozygous (estimated from single nucleotide polymorphisms) than those that survive to adulthood.” http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v3/n5/pdf/ncomms1870.pdf?WT.ec_id=NCOMMS-20120529

We have moved since January 2015!!

Breeder of Fine Finches

Welcome! My name is Chelsea and I am a hobbyist Finch breeder & avian enthusiast located in Tacoma, WA. I specialize in hand-raising Finches as well as rare Zebra Finch mutations. I also keep a flock of Gouldian Finches, a couple pairs of Society Finches & a very spoiled male Canary. Please enjoy your visit and contact me with any questions.